Goodbye Stan and Joyce: USU community surprises retiring president

Retiring President Stan Albrecht was greeted by a marching band that played the fight song and a cheering crowd of nearly 300 faculty, staff, students and community members when he and his wife, Joyce, walked out of Old Main on Tuesday afternoon.

They lined the walkway from Old Main to the Taggart Student Center. They danced, sang and rang cow bells to show their gratitude to Albrecht for his dedication to USU over the last 11 years as president.

Albrecht’s face lit up as he and Joyce stopped dead in their tracks to sing and dance to the Scotsman.

“I told them that I wanted to finish up quietly,” Albrecht said. “It was a total surprise.”

As he walked along the pathway, he stopped frequently to hug people in the crowd, some with tears in their eyes. Albrecht said even though it’s time for him to move on, he left USU with a lump in his throat.

“It wasn’t until I walked out of Old Main and it became an emotional day,” Albrecht said.  

Albrecht has a “small town,” personable attitude, said Alan Anderson, the executive director for Dining Services. That’s the way Albrecht has always been.

“If you saw Stan walking around, you wouldn’t guess that he’s president because you’d think he’s some schmo because he knows everyone’s name,” he said.

Steven Mecham, the chief of police who is retiring this semester as well, said he appreciates Albrecht’s ability to talk to everyone.

“Nobody was not important enough for him to not talk to,” he said.

Andersen said Joyce Albrecht is the same way.

“[She’s a] wonderful lady to be around,” he said.

Kim Doyle, assistant to the provost, said Albrecht is always charming, kind and considerate, and he’s leaving a legacy of family.

“When you visit with him, you truly feel like you’re family,” she said. “He always stops and greets the students and asks them how they’re doing.”

Doyle said she’ll miss Albrecht as president, but she knows the university is going into good hands.

Noelle Cockett, the provost of the university, will take over as president next semester.  

Albrecht was one of 15 USU presidents. Before that, he was vice president of Student Affairs, provost, and the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Albrecht leaves USU with a legacy of constructing nearly 30 buildings across the state.

“It’s not the buildings that matters,” he said. “It’s about the learning that goes on in the buildings.”

Albrecht said he’s proud to improve education for Aggies by expanding to classroom space and laboratory space.

“It’s a great university,” he said. “I hope students who graduate can be proud of their alma mater.”

Albrecht said he was proud to be part of a land-grant university that gives access and opportunities to USU’s regional campuses by sharing quality education with those can’t live in Logan.

After leaving USU, he’s going to work on getting land-grant status for USU’s Blanding Extension campus. He hopes to help more Native American students can get college degrees.  

—morgan.pratt.robinson@gmail.com

@morganprobinson